1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relate to a secondary battery accommodation case to be used as a power supply and the like for electronic apparatus such as, for example, a personal computer and the like for accommodating secondary batteries in a battery accommodation compartment formed by stacking a first case member and a second case member, more specifically to a secondary battery accommodation case that provides an exterior face having no parting or border lines of the first and second case members on three or more outer faces.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a conventional secondary battery accommodation case to be used as a power supply and the like for electronic apparatus such as a personal computer and the like has a construction as shown in FIG. 8. The secondary battery accommodation case 1 as shown in FIG. 8 comprises a substantially rectangular first case member 2 having a battery accommodation portion 4 for accommodating a plurality of secondary batteries therein and a second case member 3 to be mounted on the first case member 2 for closing the battery accommodation portion 4.
The first case member 2 comprises a rectangular bottom face portion 2a and a front face portion 2b, left and right side portions 2c, 2d and a rear face portion 2e standing upwardly from four sides of the bottom face portion 2a, thereby forming a recessed portion to defining a battery accommodation portion 4. A desired number of secondary batteries are accommodated in the battery accommodation portion 4. A second case member 3 is assembled with the first case member 2 in such a manner to close the battery accommodation portion 4.
In the first case member 2, heights of the left and right side portions 2c, 2d and the rear face portion 2e except the front face portion 2b out of the four portions 2b–2e which define exterior faces are made considerably lower than the height of the front face portion 2b. In other words, with respect to an opening side edge 5a, open side edges 5b, 5c and 5d of the other three sides are set considerably lower. Additionally, there are formed, at the open side edges 5b, 5c and 5d of the three sides, step portions 6 which are higher at the inner sides.
In accordance with the shape at the open side of the above-mentioned first case member 2, the second case member 3 is formed in a complementary shape. In other words, the second case member 3 comprises a top face portion 3a for closing the battery accommodation portion 4, and left and right face portions 3b, 3c and a rear face portion 3d depending continuously from the three sides of the top face portion 3a except the front face portion 3a. An open portion at the front face side of the second case member 3 is closed by an upper portion of the front face portion 2b of the first case member 2.
However, in such conventional secondary battery accommodation case 1, only one exterior face or the front face portion 2a out of four exterior faces encircling the battery accommodation portion 4 is made flat excluding the parting line, thereby including the parting lines at the border between the first case member 2 and the second case member 3 in right to left, or horizontal direction in the remaining three faces, that is, in the right and left side faces as well as the rear face. As a result, in a case when the secondary battery accommodation case 1 is used as a power supply for a personal computer, there is a drawback that a part of the exterior face including such parting line is easily exposed to human eyes, thereby providing awkward appearance.